U.S. retail spending fell a record 16.4% in April from a month earlier as consumers stayed home and demand plunged. Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility output, decreased 11.2%, the steepest drop in records dating back 101 years.

The record declines in spending and output could represent the worst of economic damage from coronavirus-related shutdowns, economists said, although most expect the recovery will be slow.

Major indexes fell to start the day before turning higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.08 points, the S&P 500 rose 11.20 points, and the Nasdaq Composite added 70.84 points. Still, all three notched weekly declines.

Germany fell into recession in the first quarter, with its gross domestic product shrinking by 8.6% on an annualized basis, but is nonetheless expected to fare better than its neighbors over the balance of 2020. The eurozone economy as a whole contracted by 14.2%, while the U.S. economy shrank by 4.8%. 

• A novel pandemic bond intended to benefit poor countries is paying out, bringing the total proceeds from the World Bank’s program to $195.8 million.
   
• Volkswagen’s sales in China have started to recover, but auto executives and analysts fear weak demand could persist even after lockdowns are lifted across the West.
   
• 🎧What’s News podcast: WSJ reporter Harriet Torry digs into the numbers on retail sales and factory output.

Trump hasn’t ruled out more state aid; Democrats prepare to move proposal in House.

With April’s unemployment at a record 14.7%, there are fears the U.S. is heading toward another Great Depression. In a live Q&A with WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett explains why that is unlikely. Photo: EPA

President Trump hasn’t ruled out additional economic relief for states and cities grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, as long as it doesn’t constitute what he considers a “bailout,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an online question-and-answer session with The Wall Street Journal.

It’s too soon to know whether the $3 trillion in spending Congress has authorized over the past couple of months will be enough to deal with the crisis, though officials should have a better idea in a few weeks, he said, adding that he believes the early data are encouraging.

House Democrats are expected to pass today a sprawling $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill that will mark the Democrats’ starting point for talks with Republicans and the White House on the next round of stimulus. Their plan would provide roughly $1 trillion to help cities and states plug gaping budget deficits in the coming months as their tax revenue plummets and spending on safety-net programs increases.

The House was also set to approve a slate of changes enabling lawmakers to operate remotely during the pandemic, including proxy voting.

Inadequate testing, varied reporting standards and a lack of coordination have made it difficult to get a handle on the risks involved with easing lockdowns across the U.S.

Positive cases can reflect changes in testing capacity, rather than a jump in infections, while reported deaths sometimes include people for whom the cause of death was determined weeks or months after they died. In addition, states and counties use differing methodologies that have evolved over the past few months, making it challenging to get a clear snapshot of how the U.S. is doing as a whole its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

• The Numerical Language of Covid-19: A Primer 

States easing out of shutdowns are taking different approaches. Indiana and some other states have allowed nonessential businesses adhering to hygiene and social-distancing guidelines to reopen, and five regions in New York State will also reopen, allowing agriculture, construction, forestry and modified retail operations to resume.

The coronavirus will likely hamper U.S. meat production for months, said the head of the biggest U.S. beef producer, as new safety measures and reduced staffing slow plant operations.

JBS USA Holdings, which slaughters 23% of the country’s cattle and produces nearly one-fifth of its pork, is revamping plant operations to space workers farther apart while about 10% of its workforce has been sent home because of their higher risk from Covid-19, Chief Executive Andre Nogueira said.

The pandemic has upended the $213 billion U.S. meat industry, forcing industry giants including JBS, Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and Cargill to temporarily close plants. Nearly 5,000 workers have fallen ill, and at least 20 have died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated May 1.

• Plant-based food makers like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Tofurky say they are ramping up production and discounting their meat alternatives to fill in for missing cuts in supermarket meat cases.

Get an early morning briefing about the coronavirus each weekday and a weekly Health newsletter once the crisis abates. Sign up here.

Bob Wachter, the chairman of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, is part of a growing group of scientists and public-health officials who are increasingly active and drawing large audiences on social media.

They say they feel a moral obligation to provide credible information online and steer the conversation away from dubious claims, such as those in “Plandemic,” a video espousing Covid-19 conspiracy theories that drew millions of views last week.

Former Federal Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb and University of Washington biologist Carl Bergstrom sometimes tweet dozens of times a day. Dr. Wachter said his follower count has tripled since mid-March to more than 64,000.

• ▶️Video: Why the health-care sector may not rebound to its former size.

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